


How shall I win back your heart (which was mine)?

by hibiren



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Canon, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Comfort, Comfort/Angst, Dirty Talk, Feels, Foreplay, Gentle Kissing, Hurt/Comfort, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Kissing, Late at Night, Love Confessions, M/M, Making Out, Men Crying, Nightmares, Post-Episode Ignis Verse 2, Touching, Trust, gladnoct - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 08:08:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20524739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hibiren/pseuds/hibiren
Summary: A late night summons to Noctis' chambers sends Gladio rushing to his King's side to talk him out of his worsening nightmares. No matter what, Gladio is determined to make sure Noctis knows he doesn't have to suffer alone.





	How shall I win back your heart (which was mine)?

**Author's Note:**

> wow I know it's been a while since I've posted but I promise I'm still writing! :D  
I know I haven't posted any gladnoct in ages but I was finally able to finish an idea I've drafted, redrafted, put away and revisited and started over several times! This is my first older gladnoct piece, though, but I love them both so much ; u ;
> 
> going through my fic writing playlists again and I was caught on [Pentatonix's "Run to You"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp7PS_UN8Lo) and that's where the title and the inspirational fuel came from! I'm sure I've written many a fic to this song before, but it's returned again on this lovely feelsy night!

“Are you alright, Your Majesty?” Gladio asked, quietly closing the door behind him when he entered the King’s chambers. Smoothing his rain-soaked hair out of his eyes, the Shield continued, “I made my way over as soon as I could, sir. I’m sorry I could get here any sooner. The rain held me up.”

A shirtless and very exhausted Noctis, hunched and tense, perched against his pillows, looking small and dwarfed by the large expanse of his mattress in the middle of the room. One hand was to Noctis’ head and his other gripped the sheets. He looked pale even in the low light of the room. Faint beads of sweat glistened as they lingered, trails just visible against his forehead and down the gentle curve of his jaw. His breathing was labored, heavy, hitching and struggling; Gladio knew that he’d had another nightmare even before he saw the state that Noctis was in. It was in the urgency in his King’s words, the hush in his tone as the voice echoed through the speaker of Gladio’s phone, _please, I don’t want to be alone right now._ What was really said, beneath all of that, was _I want to feel safe._

“You don’t… have to keep up with the formalities, we’re alone, you know,” chuckled Noctis, just mere breaths in echo of his weak humor as the words caught in his throat. A shrug accompanied the half-hearted statement.

“Alright, Noct,” Gladio responded, not missing a beat. Truth be told, the Shield cherished any time they - Ignis and Prompto included - could be just that, just friends, dropping titles and roles if only for a while to reminisce of the old days when life was nothing more than a roadtrip with a destination so far off, it was simply a dream, distant on the horizon. “Did you want me to get you something? Water, tea, coffee?”

Noctis shuddered, frowned, and worried at his bottom lip with his teeth. Gladio frowned, too, when he noticed the gentle pink of Noctis’ lips speckled a rosy dark with the sign of torn, chapped skin on the verge of bleeding. Whatever Noctis had seen in his dreams, it was unsettling enough to bring back his old self-destructive nervous habits.

“No. I… I just want some company right now, that’s all. I guess.”

The Shield stepped close, boots heavy against the floor as he inched closer, taking his time in his approach. Noctis looked up, and Gladio realized just how dark the circles beneath his azure eyes were. Ignis had made a point to wake Noctis himself every morning, to hastily apply a bit of concealer before breakfast time - but it didn’t stop the Tactician from pulling Gladio aside in the hall one day to make a silent note, _he’s exhausted. Something’s on his mind, but he refuses to speak of it. I know it’s because he doesn’t want any of us to worry, but… you know as well as I do that we all worry nonetheless. Just don’t show it, or he’ll retreat further into himself._

“You wanna talk about it?” Gladio tried, finally beside the bed. He leaned forward, strong steady hands guiding Noctis’ clenched fist away from the bedsheets, and his other away from his head to rest in his blanketed lap. Noctis let himself be moved like a doll on a shelf, unblinking half-lidded eyes staring blankly down at the thick black quilt covering him. The King’s hands trembled against Gladio’s touch, but, stubbornly as ever, Noctis shook his head.

“No, it’s… I don’t want to talk about it.” Turning away, Noctis’ black hair briefly speckled with grey-silver in the low light. Becoming King, even though it was his destiny, still seemed to take a heavy toll on the man. Gladio knew just how much he had to put up with when it came to daily matters, but what really brewed inside Noctis’ head since he’d returned from his ten year disappearance… it was a mystery.

Instead of insisting, _let me help you, dammit,_ as much as Gladio wanted to, to shake some sense into his King, he knew he shouldn’t. When Noctis was like this, the best thing he could do was offer small comforts, whether it was through touch or otherwise.

Gladio’s calloused palms trailed up Noctis’ shaking, bare arms to his shoulders, offering a subtle squeeze in reassurance before one hand cupped the King’s chin, stubble lightly scratching against his fingers as Gladio tilted his head just enough so their eyes could meet. Noctis still kept his eyes averted, the reflections lingering within them a sure sign that he was fighting off more than he was letting on.

“Noct, look at me, please.” The sounds seemed to choke Gladio as they left his lips, words catching heavily even though he tried to hide the utter heartbreak in his voice. “Please.”

Slowly, Noctis let himself be guided, turned to finally meet Gladio’s tender, concerned gaze.

“I’m… sorry,” Noctis eventually muttered. A single tear slipped free, but Gladio thumbed it away before it could fall.

“If something’s bothering you, you know that’s why I’m here. I’m your Shield for a reason. I’m here to share your emotional burdens too, not just the physical ones. No one can be truly strong on their own. If you really don’t wanna talk about it, I won’t force you. But at least let me comfort you. I’ll do what I can to ease your pain.”

When Noctis remained unmoving, Gladio huffed softly and sat at the bed’s edge, wrapping his arms around Noctis enough to lift him effortlessly into his lap. For a brief second, Noctis seemed confused, but just settled against his Shield’s chest without another thought. If anything, he seemed thankful for such close contact.

“I’ve got you, Noct. It’s okay.” Gladio smiled, humming softly against Noctis’ hair. Slowly, Noctis’ hands inched around Gladio’s waist and just weakly gripped at his shirt without speaking. “If it’s nightmares, they can’t hurt you. They’re just dreams. If anyone tries to hurt you, you know they’d have to get through me first - and I won’t let them.”

“But, what if it’s not,” whispered Noctis, fear crackling his hesitant words. “What if I’m still dreaming, what if I wake up, and the world is destroyed around me… I’ve seen… I’ve seen people die, Gladio. Every night. I don’t want to lose anyone else. I watch my worst fears play out every time I try to sleep. I don’t want… I don’t want that…” The words dissolved into shuddered, swallowed-back sobs.

For a moment, Gladio flashed back to one night ten years ago, when Noctis came to him in the way past midnight while they were staying at some unnamed motel to wait out a storm, unable to sleep because his thoughts of _what if_ kept haunting him. He’d just held Noctis in his arms until he stopped shuddering and drifted into an exhausted slumber, tucked him into his bed, and gently kissed his forehead. It was all he could think of to do in that moment, but it was in the ten years Noctis was gone that Gladio truly realized just how he felt for his King, in every painful breath Gladio took in his absence. It wasn’t something they’d discussed in depth, but Gladio was sure Noctis knew that he felt for his King more than he outwardly showed.

As Gladio fell back to reality from his reminiscence, he realized he’d pulled Noctis into a kiss, his soft lips easily enveloping the King’s chapped mouth and bringing with it warmth and comfort. When Gladio realized this, fearing he’d stepped out of line, he moved to pull away but Noctis brought his arms to his Shield’s shoulders and held him close, breaking their kiss himself just to whisper,

“Keep going… please. I want to stay distracted tonight. I want to forget about my nightmares.”

Despite his own nervousness, Gladio found himself smirking and guiding Noctis back against his pillows, shedding his shirt and slipping his boots off in the same motion that he dropped his shirt to the floor.

“Of course, Your Majesty,” murmured the Shield, the title falling past his lips with a throaty, satisfied hum. Against his usual judgment, Gladio slipped in a hushed addition, “I’ll keep you distracted all night, if you want. I could have you so distracted, you’ll be thinking about me all week…”

At that, Noctis chuckled, the sound much more genuine than before. “Think you’re up to the challenge?”

“You know I am.”

Their lips brushed together a second time, carefully, but quickly turned to gentle nippings, bites, tongues clashing while their hands wandered across each other’s skin, feeling every inch, every muscle, every scar. Gladio stopped when Noctis arched his back, gasping when they parted to catch their breath.

“Noct?” asked Gladio, searching through the dim for a response. Noctis’ chest heaved against Gladio’s palm from the exertion of their growing desperation. Subtly, Gladio found himself relieved that this time, it wasn’t from panic. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. I’ll be okay. I… I trust you, you know. I just… feel like I shouldn’t want this. Ignis knows… Prompto, too, they both know how difficult it’s been for me through all this, having to fight through all this professional kingly business when all I want to do is stay with you. You help me forget about my troubles in ways that no one else can. I just… don’t want to burden you with more of me than you have to put up with.”

“You know I’m stuck with you no matter what, don’t you?” Gladio asked, tonguing gentle kisses against Noctis’ stubbled jaw to his ear, where he lingered close to whisper, “I’m glad you want me so badly. Thought these days you hardly had time for me, but I guess I’ve been on your mind more than I’ve thought, huh?”

A breathy moan whispered through the King’s lips, his hands searching for Gladio’s head just to grip gently at his hair, to tug him closer when he pulled away. “Yeah. I… I just…”

“It’s alright. No more talking, forget everything that’s bothering you. Trust me, okay? As I said, I’ve got you. You’re safe. I’ll take care of you. Promise.” With this, Gladio lifted Noctis from the sheets and perched fully against his lap, knees on either side of Gladio's thighs. The Shield brushed a stray strand of falling hair behind Noctis’ ear before kissing his lips deeply, reverently. As seconds passed and their kisses grew more fervent, more confident, Noctis moved first in bringing their hips together and setting the pace to a slow grind. Gladio met Noctis’ hips with matching passion, remaining gentle yet strong and anchoring his King in ways unspoken - ways that in the end, they knew they both needed.

**Author's Note:**

> This idea came from the thought that, what if even after the dawn returns (and Noctis makes it out alive) he still has nightmares about what happened in the main verse/his own death in canon, where everything went wrong and people sacrificed their lives to ensure Noctis would be able to save the world... I imagine Gladio and Noctis having quite a few of these late night conversations, maybe some comforting touches, and a kiss here and there, perhaps... Gladio is a very physical person but he knows that in the end, Noctis is always in control and if he were uncomfortable, he could order Gladio off of him and Gladio would obey without a second thought. Older gladnoct has such a sad, sweet, powerful dynamic to it especially in this verse, I thought I'd give it a try!


End file.
